Palestinian Detainee Facing Death by Cancer, Says Official

Chairman of the Detainees and Ex-Detainees Affairs Commission, Qadri Abu Bakr, blamed the Israeli government, on Saturday, for failing to provide treatment to a Palestinian detainee being held in Israeli jails, Rajai Abdul-Qadir, aged 35, who has been diagnosed with cancer.

‚ÄúRajai is suffering from cancer in the liver and lungs, and his condition is very serious. He must get hospitalization immediately for chemotherapy, which must be given to him until the cancer cells are controlled,‚ÄĚ Abu Bakr said.

‚ÄúHowever,‚ÄĚ he added, ‚Äúthe Naqab prison administration refused to do so for two months, and therefore he is very close to death.‚ÄĚ

According to WAFA, Abu Bakr called on local and international human rights organizations to pressure the Israeli occupation to immediately release Rajai, so that he could receive the necessary treatment.

As a matter of fact, medical negligence is a common punitive measure used against Palestinian detainees in Israeli jails. It is one of the commonly cited motivations for hunger strikers protesting the cruel imprisonment conditions.

In 2016, the Palestinian Information Center said that an estimated 207 Palestinian prisoners had died in Israeli custody since 1967, 126 of whom as a result of medical negligence.